


Figures of the Void

by Kaikt00



Category: RWBY
Genre: :3c, RWBY AU: TGS, romance later on in the story if i keep writing it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-20 05:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17616095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaikt00/pseuds/Kaikt00
Summary: I'm Gem. When I was 14 years old, I was accepted prematurely into Beacon Academy. Now, as I tell you this story, I'm nearly fourty. It's been thirty years, and I've kept a detailed mark of everything that's happened since then.(Remember; Diaries are your friends.)So come on, listen, heed my tale of caution.Just kidding, you don't have to. I won't force you to listen to my life's story.It starts out pretty boring anyway. Takes a little while to get to the exciting parts.But, a beginning is a beginning, and it really does have to be included.





	1. Good morning!

**Author's Note:**

> Please be gentle on me with this. This is the first fanfic that I've ever had the guts haha
> 
> I did this for a school project (expanding my vocabulary and skills as a writer) and decided it was good enough to post.  
> Let me know if you like it because I would love to write more to her story!  
> For the most part, big events are based on a Pathfinder campaign me and some friends did a couple years back. However, small details escape me. So most of those are just what feels write in my head as I'm writing things down.

I awoke to the call of my name from down the hall. My mother’s voice was a kind welcome to the waking world, compared to waking up to the sound of my teammates back at Signal loudly greeting each other for the morning.

“What’s up, Mom?” I called, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I cracked my back and shuddered at the sudden relief it offered.

“Letter for you!” My mom called back, and I heard her gentle steps back down the stairs. I swung my legs over the side of my bed, stretching my arms over my head. I pushed myself from my bed, feeling the soft carpet beneath my sock-clad feet.  I shuffled out of my room in just my night shirt- It was Saturday, and I had no plans. I fully intended to lounge around my room all day writing.

I padded down the stairs slowly, oddly interested in the grooves on the ceiling and the carving of the wooden banister. As I reached the wooden floor of the living room, Allie, my white and grey cat, meowed from the back of the couch, wanting attention. I reached out and scratched behind her ears, smiling at the small bundle of grey and white splotches. She nuzzled against my palm, purring cutely. I giggled at her softly, moving my hand to scratch under her chin as I picked up my letter off the side table.

The envelope was plain enough, a basic off-white color with a deep red wax seal on it. The symbol was what seemed to be a braided rope surrounding two crossed axes - the symbol of Vale. I noticed that the return address was that of Beacon Academy, and I stopped moving for a second.

_ Beacon Academy? The same academy where team RWBY trained? _ I eagerly opened the envelope, dropping it on the table after pulling out two sheets of paper. The lettering was flourishing and neat, obviously written by a practiced hand.

 

Gem Indegno,

It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been selected for an early entrance into Beacon Academy. Should you choose to accept this offer, we would be glad to have you at our school. Your test scores from the past year has proven that you are an intelligent and determined young woman, which would be welcome here.

I am eager to greet you at the door on the first day.

Headmistress Goodwitch

The rest of the letter was printed. It was a less personalized welcome and a small explanation of what the expectations at Beacon are. Nothing I wasn’t already used to. There was a list on the other sheet of paper, which were the different supplies and items I would need to bring for the year.

 

I wasn’t focused on those things, though. I was focused on the first welcome, the personalized, hand-written welcome from the headmistress.

I became giddy at the thought of going to Beacon. It had always been my dream school. My dad had graduated from there, all of my grandparents had as well, my sister wanted to go there this year-

 

I heard her scream from upstairs. Not the kind of scream that signals fear, but the kind of scream that conveys excitement and joy. I chuckled to myself. She must have gotten a letter too.

“Gem! Gem, it happened!” I heard her moving through the hall, the flapping of her wings being rather loud, and I walked over to the stairs to meet her. “Gem, I got accepted into Beacon!!”

“That’s awesome!” I replied, smiling. “But you’re not going alone.~”

“What do you mean?” Jules used her wings to keep herself steady as she came down the stairs.

“First off, how’s that leg feeling?” I let her lean on me, her arm slung around my shoulders. I brought her to sit on the couch.

“It’s mostly just sore now.” She assured me. “Dad already checked it. He said the swelling is almost all the way down now. Should only be a few days until I can walk normally again.”

“Good!” I gushed. She smiled appreciatively. “Anyway, back to what I said earlier. You’re not going to Beacon alone.”

“How so?”

I grabbed my letter off the table, clearing my throat and reading the personalized message from the Headmistress. Jule’s face seemed to fall as her smile faltered and her eyebrows lowered from their previously curious and excited position.

“Oh. I see.” She looked away from me, running her hand down the cat’s back.

“What’s up. Do you not want me to come with?” I frowned.

“No, it’s not that, I just… I kind of hoped I would have a couple years to myself, I guess?” She shrugged. I sighed, setting my letter down, and leaned back against the chair.

“I just hoped you’d be proud of me, y’know?” I mumbled, unsure if she could even hear me. “I mean, I worked so hard this year…”

“I know, that. And I am proud of you! It just would have been nice to have a couple years without my baby sister on my back all the time.”

“I’m not a baby anymore, Jules. I’m as tall as you, and nearly as strong.”

“But you’re still my baby sister. And Dad’s baby girl. You always will be. It’s kinda part of the deal, being the youngest and all.”

“I guess,” I sighed, still bummed that she didn’t want me going to Beacon with her. “Anyway, I’m gonna head upstairs to get packing. We only have a few weeks. You need help up?”

“Yes, please.” I stood and she held out her hands. I pulled her up, immediately having her shift her weight to her uninjured leg and lean on me. I helped her up the stairs in silence.

“You alright, Gem?” She asked, frowning at me.

“I’m fine,” I told her. “Don’t worry ‘bout me.”

“See, worrying about you is kind of my job,” She laughed softly. “I’m your big sister.”

“That you are.” I agreed with a small chuckle.

“Oh good, I was hoping I would get you to laugh.” She told me, amusement dancing in her sightless lavender eyes.

“Are you alright, now that you’re up the stairs?” I asked, hesitantly letting her pull her weight off of me. Her wings supported her balance, and she used her wings to pull her into the air, only about a foot off the ground.

“I’ll be fine, so long as I can feel the wall to get in my room.”

I laughed after a few moments as it occurred to me what she meant.

“I mean, I sure hope you’ll be able to feel the wall. Otherwise you’ll go right through it!”

Her grin was playful and energetic, and she almost seemed bouncy. I could tell she was still in a good mood from the news. 

Her happy mood had brought me back from my sulking by now, and I went to my room to pack.

It took a couple hours, but I had the basics packed and any dirty laundry I had was in the wash. I went downstairs, beckoned by the smell of food, and sat down at the table. My mom’s homemade Salmon Salad was sitting out in a huge bowl, and my dad came out of the kitchen, another huge bowl in his hands, filled with leafy greens. My mom came out just after him, carrying bottles of dressing, as well as the salt and pepper shakers.

“What did your letter say this morning, darling?” My mom inquired as she sat down across from me.

“I’ll tell you after everyone sits down.” I told her. She raised an eyebrow, but smiled and shook her head, moving to begin serving plates. My dad sat next to me and my mom handed him a plate.

“Aw, Sugar, you didn’t have to make my plate for me.” He smiled wide, and my mom rolled her eyes with a giggle.

“I didn’t  _ have _ to, but I did anyway.” She replied, a warm smile on her face. My father grinned at her, before he started putting the seasonings and dressings he liked on his salads. He cracked a handful of crackers over his salmon salad as mom handed me my dinner.

“Thanks,” I barely set my plate down before I dug in. It occured to me that I didn’t eat breakfast that day, so I was hungry. Dad laughed at me.

“Don’t tell me you forgot to eat again.” He grinned at me. I shrugged, pausing from my food to sit back up and grin at him. 

“I’ve been packing all day. That’s my excuse.” I shrugged, swallowing my bite. 

“Gem, you can’t just not eat.” Jules’ voice startled me. I hadn’t even realised she had come and sit down.

“I mean, I can, obviously. I did today.” She snorted, but very obviously tried to keep from actually laughing. I grinned with pride.

“Well, everyone’s here now, Gem.” My mom reminded me, as I took my sister’s plate from her hands and set it in front of Juliana. “What was the letter about?”

“Oh, you know, nothing special. Just a letter telling me I’m going to Beacon this year. No biggie.” I replied in a mock-casual tone, before bubbling over with excited giggles.

“You’re pulling my leg.” My dad exclaimed, staring at me in disbelief. I shook my head, still giggling.

“I can go get the letter if you want-” I made a motion to stand, but he shook his head.

“I believe you, I’m just surprised!” He grinned at me. “I didn’t expect that you would be headed off to Beacon early.”

“Neither did I.” I agreed. “Jules has her news too, don’t just focus on me.” I smiled, nudging Juliana softly with my elbow as a signal to go ahead and tell our parents about her letter as well.


	2. We're late, we're late!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gem and Juliana experience a blimp ride to school once again, this time with a little bit less friendlyness and a little bit more racism.

“Gem, c’mon, get up. We have to go!” I awoke to being thrown off my bed by my sister.

“What’s going on?” I mumbled groggily, blinking at the bright light flooding into the room through my window.

“The blimp lands in an hour!” She yelled excitedly. I groaned and covered my ears. “We need to go in, like, ten minutes. Otherwise we’ll be late.”

“Okay, okay, I’m going.” I stood up, cracking my back and stretching. I hadn’t slept well last night. Nothing more than pre-flight jitters, but it still kept me up until about three in the morning. 

“Well hurry up!” She exclaimed before rushing out of my room, gliding down the stairs excitedly.

I threw a few things in a backpack - Some books, a throw blanket, a pillow, and a small stuffed animal my father had given me when I was younger. I also grabbed the family photo I had sitting on my dresser. I tucked that away safely in an inside pocket, surrounded by the blanket and stuffed animal for some cushion in case I drop the bag at all. I threw on some clothes - a plain green t-shirt and a pair of loose-legged jeans- and threw the bag on over my shoulders.

I slid down the stair banister in an effort to save a bit of time, landing slightly roughly on my sock-clad feet. I set my bag down on the floor beside the door and grabbed my boots. I sat on the bench across from where we stored our shoes and, rolling my pants up like shorts, pulled them on, tying the laces just tight enough around my calf to ensure they wouldn’t slip down as I walked. I let my jeans fall over my boot as I stood. Wiggling my toes, I noticed that my shoes were getting a little bit small for me- I’d have to ask for new ones some time this year.

“Gem, where- Oh, there you are!” Juliana rounded the corner, apparently having finally sensed my aura. I waved at her, stretching one final time and grabbing my sweatshirt from the hangers above the bench. I slipped it on before picking up my bag and throwing it back over my shoulders.

“You ready to go?” I zipped the sweatshirt half way up, grabbing my gauntlets off of the shelf and clicking them into place around my hands.

“Yeah. Dad’s on his way with our suitcases right now.” She tugged at her leggings under her dress, pulling them up slightly.

“Mom, we’re heading out!” She yelled, giving me barely enough time to block the majority of the sound from my ears.

“Hold on!” Steps hurried down the hall and my mom turned the corner, barely stopping in front of us. She was slightly out of breath.

“We have to go, Mom-” I murmured. She always hated watching us go.

“Your father told me to give you these.” She held out a pair of simple, black leather boxes, about half the length of my forearm. On the top of one box, engraved in silvery metal, was my name. On the other, Juliana’s. 

“What are they?” Juliana asked, reaching out toward the box before her. 

“He didn’t tell me.” She responded. I took my box from her outstretched hand and looked it over again. It was warm to the touch, the heat seemingly emanating from inside. I carefully opened its cover, and gasped as realization hit me of what I was holding.

“This- This is Dust.” I stammered, bringing one hand up to run my fingers over its smooth surface. This was a crystal, the purest form of Dust you could get on the market. “A dust crystal.”

Its yellow color signified that it was Lightning, one of the more common, but powerful, dust types. It was slightly unstable when in too big of a crystal- this one being the size of my fist, roughly. I was certain to be careful when handling this, at least until I wanted to use it.

“Open yours, Jules. I got lightning, I want to see what you got.” I smiled, filled with excitement. If dad thought I would do best with lighting, what could my sister have gotten? She was far more skilled in hand to hand, close-range combat than me. Maybe something that would make her stronger, like Earth? Maybe Spirit, or Life?

She went to open her box, and as soon as her fingers broke the seal between the main container and the lid, if blew open. Inside, surrounded in blue velvet, lay a pale blue crystal of dust, white seeming to swirl within it.

“Wind.” I murmured, not addressing anyone, just staring down at the swirling crystal in Juliana’s box.

“Oh! That can help me with flying!” She exclaimed, grinning. She ran her fingers over her crystal, as I had, and sighed happily. She closed her box with some slight effort- the crystal resisted, but once the magnetic seal was made, it stayed shut. I had already put mine safely in my bag, zipping it shut once more.

“Hold on to mine, will you?” She asked me. “Because we need to go.”

“I know we do.” I laughed. “C’mon. Bye Mom, love you! I’ll call you when we get there.”

“Goodbye, loves! Be safe!”

Jules and I ran out the door, giggling like little kids. I think we were both just giddy about going to Beacon. It was where our Dad had gone, though he wasn’t an active huntsman anymore. He’d settled down with my mom once she was pregnant with Jules.

Jules hardly gave me enough time to make sure I had a good hold on my bag and her box before she lifted me up, hooking her arms under my armpits and hoisting the both of us up in the air. I was used to this at this point. She was my wings, I was her eyes.

I would tell her when to turn, dive, or fly upwards. I loved the feeling of the sun on my face and the wind in my silver hair, even if it did mean suffering through the wind in my ears. I took in a deep breath and smiled.

About 20 minutes later, we landed just outside the airport. People filed in and out the doors, some obviously in a rush to get to their destination.

“C’mon, this way.” I grabbed my sister’s arm, pulling her with me toward the door. It took another 15 minutes to get to Dad from the doors and have him give us our bags, already having been checked.

“Good luck, girls. I’m so proud of you.” He hugged us both goodbye and we ran to the gate, the blimp waiting for us just beyond.

“Good morning, ladies!” The pilot called to us from the door of the blimp as we approached. “You’re just on time. We leave in five minutes!”

“Thank you for your patience.” As we ascended the stairs, he smiled and shook his head.

“It’s no problem. We always say we’re leaving earlier than we actually do to make sure everyone gets here on time.” He grinned. I smiled back and we entered the blimp.

I surveyed the inside of the huge airship. People of all shapes and sizes filled the space- not uncomfortably so, but still full nonetheless. Nobody really caught my eye yet- though I didn’t doubt that I would be approached at some point.

“Do you want to hang around me or would you rather be left alone?” I asked Jules, turning toward her. She thought for a moment before nodding to herself.

“I’d rather be left alone, if that’s alright. I can protect the bags.”

“Sure. Be safe. Remember to hit people with your wings if you need to.” I joked, laughing to myself. We walked over to an unclaimed area and piled our bags together in an organized but slightly messy fashion. Jules sat on top of one of her suitcases, pretending to watch the blimp, as if she could truly see any of the people on it. I chuckled and began to wander, listening to a variety of conversations as I walked. People talking about what it would be like at Beacon, people talking about what classes they were going to take, the basic things. A few more interesting topics came up - whether or not anyone could live up to the legendary Team RWBY, new teachers they had met or heard about, and a couple other interesting but ultimately unimportant discussions.

“Yeah, me and my sister are here this year. She’s not super happy about it, but she’s glad to be away from Dad. Can’t say I disagree with her, if I’m honest.” I turned toward the source of the voice and found that is came from a tall, slender man with piercing white hair. I blinked, furrowing my brows. His curly hair reminded me of a Schnee, but I didn’t think they would send their kids to anywhere but Atlas’ Academy. After all, Whitley Schnee had held the position as headmaster of that school since I was ten - roughly five years ago. I approached him, taking in a deep breath to calm my nerves. I had to figure this out.

“Hey,” I muttered, barely over the voices of the crowd. He still heard me though, evidently, as he turned toward me and smiled as he saw me.

“Hey there,” He greeted with a smile. “Is there something you need?”

“Friends,” I joked, rubbing the back of my neck and laughing inwardly. He laughed as well.

“Me too. We can help each other with that, can’t we?”

“Sure,” I held out my hand. “Gem Indegno.”

“William Schnee,” He shook my hand, having an unexpectedly strong grip. “I recognize your family name. Who are your parents?”

“My dad owns a pretty popular blacksmith’s shop here in Vale. Best metalworking on Remnant.” I told him, still trying to urge the nerves from my body. “My mom recently came into owning an old book store, but before she was just manager.”

“That’s it.” He grinned at me. “Indegno Metalworking. My friend’s mom worked there for a few years when I was a kid.”

The conversation was going well for a while, but as most things do, eventually turned sour.

“Wait a second… Your dad, he used to be married to some Faunes. He’s not any more, is he?”

“Why?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I could only see this going badly.

“Because that would make you a Faunes. Which is disgusting.”

It then occurred to me that I was wearing my hair down that day. The silver waves easily covered my wide, pointed bat ears. 

“How are Faunes disgusting?”

“Cause they’re only half human. It’s got to mean that somewhere along the line some human-”

“Woah, woah, let’s not go there,” I shook my head and waved my hand dismissively him. “Even if Faunes do have animal traits, I don’t see why that makes them disgusting.” I shrugged, keeping up a casual facade.  

“I just told you why.” He crossed his arms. “They’re barely human.”

“No, see, they’re not human- That’s why they’re called Faunes and not animal humans.” I forced a joke out.

“I don’t see how you can even tolerate them.” He scowled at a Faunes walking by, who trembled and ducked back into the crowd at the sight of him. I frowned.

“Most of my friends were Faunes when I was a kid,” I told him truthfully. I had grown up in a primarily-Faunes neighborhood so most of the neighbors and friends I had growing up were Faunes. My dad always felt out of place, being the only human in the area, but he never used that as an excuse to be rude to our neighbors. He was only ever ‘rude’ when it was an accident- Accidentally cutting a tree branch into the neighbor’s yard or cutting grass a bit over the property line. He’d always been a kind man. I couldn’t remember a single time when he was less than happy - Even when he would scold my sister and I, he went back to smiling and making jokes only a few seconds after.

“Good God, that must have been horrible.” He frowned, looking almost sorry for me. I frowned, before shaking my head.

“You know, I would have loved to continue this conversation with you, had you not openly insulted me and my family.” I glared, pointedly tucking my hair behind my ear. “Sadly though, you did, so I’ll be taking my leave and living a happy life without bigots like you in it.” I turned on my heel, ignoring his muttered curses and him calling my name. As if he could even try to apologize for that. I walked over to an uninhabited corner, plopping down against the side of the blimp and crossing my arms. The large screen flashed to a news report.

“It has just come to my attention that reports of Selena Torchwick are filtering in from multiple cities in Southern Vale,” The anchor said. “The daughter of the infamous Roman Torchwick - Who is still reported missing and presumed dead - was last seen leading over 30 cargo planes away from a large dust storage facility. She has also been reported to be carrying the Crescent Rose, famously known as the weapon of choice for huntress Ruby Rose. General Winter Schnee has informed us that she is currently working on tracking the criminal, but has had no luck so far in recovering the artifact.”

I growled. How dare she even think about laying her hands on that weapon. Ruby Rose had been my hero for as long as I could remember - Me and Jules had dressed up as her and her sister, Yang Xiao Long, for Halloween about 10 years ago. I Even still had the miniature Crescent Rose my dad had made me all that long ago. It was hung on the wall above my bedroom door at home.

I heard another, deeper growl and turned. My eye was immediately caught by a pale-skinned boy with the maw of a shark, curly green hair and brightly colored, mismatched clothes. I raised one eyebrow at him and got closer. He was focused on the screen behind me and didn’t seem to notice me until I was maybe 3 feet in front of him.

He locked eyes with me and tilted his head. I tilted mine in the opposite direction, chuckling at him. He smiled a small bit, revealing his sharp teeth. I grinned, showing off my own pointy set in return.

“Hey there,” I held out my hand, centering my head once more. “ My name’s Gem. Yours?”

He pointed to his throat, then to his mouth, and made a scratching motion with his hands. I blinked.

“Sore throat? Sick?” He shook his eyes, then opened his mouth wide. I glanced at the back of his throat, where deep reddish scars resided, presumably from his own teeth. “You can’t talk?”

He nodded and gave me finger guns, which signified to me that I was right. I held up a finger, telling him to hold on a moment, before heading back to my bags and grabbing a notebook out of one of the smaller pockets. It was empty, never even used, but I had brought it along anyway in case I had nothing better to do than doodle. I brought it and a pencil I had fished out of the same pocket to the shark boy.

“There you go. Hope this works for you, at least for the moment.” I said. He grinned at me as I placed them in his large hands, and nodded.

“This works!” He wrote quickly. “My name’s Rain. Nice to meet you, Jem!”

“Gem, with a G.” I told him with a small laugh. “Like a Gemstone.”

“Oh, pretty name.” He wrote in response. “Gem with a G. I’ll remember that.”

“It’s not too hard.” I giggled with a shrug.

Me and Rain got along immediately. We had a lot in common- We both grew up in majorly Faunes communities; My neighborhood being mostly Faunes and him growing up in Menagerie; but faces similar obstacles; I was seen as ‘less of a Faunes’ because my Dad is a human, he was seen as an ‘undesirable Faunes’ because his animal traits were those of a shark. We both are closer with one parent than the other- I’ve always been my dad’s little baby, no matter how old I get, and he would rather not talk about why, but was always closer to his mom. I didn’t pry.

We spent the majority of the ride just sitting together, talking about random things. We were both excited to finally be at Beacon, and he wanted to be the leader of his team. I would rather not be the leader, but I figured I could be a decent leader if I had to be.

The speakers around the screen buzzed to life.

“Attention. Students of Beacon,” A voice, which I recognized as the voice of the pilot, came through them. “Please gather your items and make your way toward the doors in an orderly fashion. We will be landing in about 10 minutes.”

“I have to go meet up with my sister,” I mentioned. He gestured to the notebook, cocking his head to the side. I looked at it for a moment, before I understood and shook my head. “Keep it. Think of it as a little memento to remember me by if we don’t end up seeing each other during school.”

A grin spread across his features, and I smiled back, before I pushed myself into a standing position and made my way across the room to where Jules sat on the floor with our bags.

Her eyes were glazed over with thought, and I nudged her to get her attention.

“Jules, c’mon, we need to get up and ready to leave.”

“I know that.” She shrugged, looking up at me. “I was just waiting for you.”

“Sure,” I pointedly extended the word, snickering. “Of course you were.”

“Oh shut up.” She smacked my arm playfully. “Jeez, you’re such a brat.”

“It’s my job,” I shrugged with a grin. “I’m your little sister, remember?”

“You never let me forget.” She laughed. “Help me up, will you?”

She held her hand out to me and I pulled her to her feet, letting her steady herself before we gathered our bags and she followed me toward the door of the blimp, where students had begun to congregate.

One of our teachers back in Signal had taught her how to sense the Auras of some people important to her in her first year. She was able to sense mine, our parents’, and most of the teachers she had during those years apart from all the other students and staff around. She also knew how to focus in and sense particular auras on her own now. No doubt she would learn the auras of her teammates and teachers here at Beacon as well.

There was now a messy, but not chaotic “line” from the doors leading deeper into the blimp. We were near the front, but still had quite a few students in front of us.

“You ready?” Jules asked, looking at me.

“Ready to rock this year.” I replied with a grin. She rolled her eyes and chuckled.

“As we Indegnos do.” She agreed. I laughed, letting some of the first-day jitteres begin to fade. Before long, I felt the blimp land, and the door began to open.

“Please, students, file out in an orderly manner.” The pilot said as he entered the main compartment of the blimp from the cockpit. The students, of course, didn’t really listen- they pushed against one another to nudge everyone out of the blimp in a large mass. I gripped Jules’ arm tightly with the hand that wasn’t holding my bags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof I still hate William so much
> 
> Love Rain though. Rain is one of my favorite characters. He's so good. He continues to be good (albeit confusing 95% of the time or so)


	3. Rock? Get it? 'Cause my name's Gem?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha I think I'm funny
> 
> Real talk though day one? A weird one. Day two? Gets weirder.

“I’m right behind you,” Juliana said, trying to be reassuring, though her voice was almost drowned out by the sound of the crowd around us.

“Let’s find somewhere less populated.” I suggested, trying to be heard over the noise. I looked around, moving through the mass of students with slight force and constant excuses.

The crowd began to thin out before too long, and we emerged into free air suddenly.

I took a deep breath and finally noticed that my ears were ringing. Of course they were. They weren’t going to stop, either, until I got a chance to have some peace.

“You okay, Jules? Didn’t lose anything or get hit the wrong way?” I turned to my sister and began inspecting her wings for any injuries.

“I couple bumps. I might be a little bruised, but that’s from your death grip on my wrist.” She joked, laughing and bumping her wing against my face as I looked at it. I pulled back and rubbed my nose, giving her a half-hearted glare, before shaking me head and laughing.

“Okay, okay, fine.” I moved to be standing next to her. “I’m just worried because you’re at a slight disadvantage when it comes to crowds.

“So are you, dummy.” She said, reaching up to flick the tip of my left ear.

“Okay I get it.” I mumbled, bringing my hand up to massage the part of my ear she had hit. It wasn’t that she had hit it that sucked, but the fact that she chose to flick it. Flicks may not normally be too loud for most people, but when you hear roughly eight times better than most people, even that tiny sound so close to your ear can sting.

“Quit babying me, Gem. I can take care of myself.” She shrugged.

“Can you? Find your own locker then.” I grumbled, frowning at her.

“Now that’s not fair.” she pouted. “I can’t find it without seeing.”

“Exactly. I’m not babying you, I’m being a helpful little sister.” I said. She paused, as if thinking about what I had just said, before sighing.

“That’s fair. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted. Now come on, let’s go find that locker of yours.” I held out my hand, which she grabbed as we walked back through the courtyard toward the large school.

Outside the large double doors were two lines- one for students who had just arrived, and one for students who had gone here the previous year.

“C’mon, Jules. This way.” I said, guiding her to the first-years’ line.

“Lines?” She sighed, exasperated. I chuckled softly.

“Oh quit it.” I said. “It’s the first day. Lines are to be expected.”

“That’s fair.” She said. “I still hate them.”

“That’s also fair.” I responded with a shrug. The line was moving relatively quickly though.

Only maybe 5 minutes had passed before we were next in line.

“Names?” The man at the door asked as we approached.

“Gem and Juliana Indegno.” I responded, earning a slight pout from Jules, making me snicker. He filed through the box in front of him before pulling out two scrolls, one marked with my name, the other marked with hers. He also pulled out two keys, presumably to our lockers, marked with numbers.

“Juliana, your scroll has been pre-programmed to allow for use despite your lack of visual sight. I hope it works to your expectations.”

“Thank you.” She said with a smile as I guided her hand to her scroll.

“Have a nice year ladies.” He said with a smile as he gestured for us to enter.

“Why are so many people scared to say ‘blind’?” Jules wondered aloud as we walked down the hall.

“I think they associate being blind with being weak, and they don’t want to offend you, because you’re not weak.”

“Exactly. I’m not weak, but I  _ am  _ blind.” She responded. “So I wouldn’t be offended by it.”

“People just don’t want to risk it.” I said. “They’re trying to be polite. It’s a little rude, but at least they’re trying.”

“That’s fair. They’re making an attempt.”

“Hey, once we graduate, you’ll be able to teach everyone not to associate sight with strength.” I said, nudging her shoulder. She thought about it for a moment, before grinning.

“That’s fair.”

“Juliana Indegno,” The mechanical voice came from her scroll as she opened it up. She quickly inserted the headphones she had been given and placed them in her ears.

“Locker number 1352.” She told me, and I led her in the correct direction. From there, she was able to feel her way around the numbers on the keypad and get her locker opened up.

“You can go find your locker now,” she told me, nudging my side with the tip of her wing. “I can find some friends to help me out.”

“You sure?” I asked, with some slight concern.

“I’ll be fine.” She assured with a smile in my general direction. “I went on my own for a good 6 years back home.”

“I know that, I just want to make sure. We’ve gotta stick together, y’know?”

“That’s fair.” She reached over a tousled my hair, making it fall back in front of my ears again. “But I swear to you, Batsy, I’m fine.”

“Oh my god I’m not five.” I groaned, and we both burst into a fit of giggles. After a few moments, we had recovered from our little burst. “I’ll leave you alone then, vampire.”

“Not fair.” She laughed. “I can’t control my semblance.”

Laughing, I bid my sister good luck and left in search of my own locker.

Before I got to far though, I realized she had no way of contacting me if she needed to. I turned back around, making sure she knew I was coming.

“What’s up? I thought you were looking for your locker?”

“I realized you probably want to be able to contact me.” I replied with a shrug. “Plus I know you just miss me so much when I’m away.”

“Oh quit it.” She said, smacking my arm. I snickered.

“Okay, okay.” I pulled my scroll from my pocket.

Opening my scroll, the screen flashed a few different welcome messages, before settling on a screen detailing my locker and combination. I committed these numbers to memory, and took a screenshot, just in case, before closing the message and navigating through the setting to find my number. She handed me her scroll and I tapped it into her contacts under my name.

“There you go. It should work with voice command.” I told her, handing back her scroll.

“I’ll call you tonight to make sure.” She said with a smile. I nodded.

“Sounds good. See you later, Jules.”

“See you later, Gem.”

I turned and began walking the same way I had earlier, the hallway before me seeming to go on forever.

Looking up at the numbers at the tops of the lockers, I scanned as I walked until I saw where the 1400’s were. From there, it was rather simple- look for 1435.

When I finally did find it, I had to open that screenshot I took before. I punched the code into my locker and it opened with a rush of air- these must be air-sealed. I pulled some of the things I had bought specifically for decorating my locker out of my bag- stickers and some shelves, a few containers for organization, etcetera.

Once it was decorated to my liking, I hung my backpack in it- all it contained was a few notebooks and a pencil case.

I debated trying to stuff one or my suitcases in it, but decided against it- I couldn’t risk breaking anything.

Sighing, I closed the locker and, still pulling two suitcases behind me, began to explore the school. As I walked, I noticed that many people were in the same boat as me- still carrying around a suitcase or two full of personal belongings. I waved at a few of the students who, like me, were all on their own, but for the most part everyone was keeping to themselves.

My scroll buzzed in my pocket, and a heard a chorus of small noises from the students around me- something had just been sent school-wide.

Pausing against a bare wall, I pulled my suitcases next to me and let them sit, before retrieving my scroll from my pocket and opening it up.

_ Attention first year students: Please report to the auditorium for a grade-wide meeting _

_ in 15 minutes. Failure to do so will result in permanent termination from this facility. _

_ Thank you, _

_      Headmistress Goodwitch. _

I closing my scroll, I pushed it back into my pocket and grabbed my suitcases once more. I followed the bulk of the crowd- they apparently knew where the auditorium was already.

My scroll began to buzz loudly in my pocket and, moving the suitcase in my laeft hand to my right hand, I pulled it out. Opening it up, it was a call.

“Hello?” I asked hesitantly, holding the scroll a few inches from my ear.

“Hey, it’s the better sister.” Came Juliana’s voice from the other side. I rolled my eyes, before realizing this was a perfect opportunity for a joke.

“I didn’t know cloning existed yet.” I said with a snicker. I could practically hear her roll her eyes through the line. “Okay, okay, what’s up?”

“Let’s meet up in the auditorium, okay?” A few other voices were muffled through the line.

“You in a crowd?” I asked, having separated myself from the bulk of the other students.

“No. I just met some friends.” She responded. “Anyway, you cool with that plan?”

“Sure, yeah.” I replied. “Although if you would rather hang out with your new friends that’s cool with me.”

“Oh sweet.” Jules remarked. “You’re okay with that?”

“Yeah.” I told her with a shrug, though she couldn’t see me, even if I was standing there with her. “You were lucky enough to make some new friends. I still have yet to find the kid I was talking to on the airship.”

“Oh okay. See you later then, Gem.”

“See you later. Love you.”

“Back at you.” I rolled my eyes, hanging up and closing my scroll. I didn’t bother putting it back in my pocket, figuring there would probably be yet another reason to pull it out anyway.

There wasn’t. I got to the auditorium and Headmistress Goodwith gave a speech about the expectations of the school and how we aren’t allowed to act childish anymore, all stuff I’d heard for the last 3 years. 

Then she explained that tomorrow would be the first team building exercise and that tonight we would all be sleeping in here. I barely listened to her closing statement, wondering how tomorrow was going to be team building when we didn’t have teams. Would we be picking our teams, or were they assigned? What if we didn’t get along with the people on our team? Would we have to have someone we don’t get along with?

I pondered quite a few questions for the rest of the evening, going through the motions of getting ready for bed without caring too much about the details- other than changing in the bathroom.

As I set out a small pallet for myself, Jules approached. She bid me goodnight, and told me where to find her if I needed her. She was camping along one of the walls with her little group of pals.

“Sounds good. See you tomorrow, J.”

“Hear you tomorrow Gem.” I snickered at her response, before she turned and, feeling the wall and following the sound of her friends’ voices, made her way back to them.

I lay in the dark for awhile before remembering my ear plugs. I pulled them from my suitcase, opening the protective bag they were contained in, and plugging my ears until the sounds of the room were just a dull, muffled hum. I couldn’t block out the sound entirely- my ears picked up way too much for that- but I was able to soften it enough to drift off to sleep.


	4. Landing strategy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At first I was tempted to just barrel over to whoever I saw first and try to land on them.  
> I feel no shame.

When the morning rolled around, something in my gut was funky. I didn’t feel sick, but I had an odd feeling about today. I chalked it up to new student anxiety and went through the motions of getting dressed. I donned my best non-restricting clothes- a green sleeveless turtleneck and an extra pair of grey jeans- before pulling on my boots and tucking the jeans into them. I pulled my hoodie on as some extra warmth and hoisted my bags all into one counter, taking a few moments to make sure I knew where everything was. I couldn’t risk losing it all, but I had to leave it here.

An older student walked up, and explained in a cheery voice that she would be in charge of my bags until the team building exercise was over and we were assigned rooms. I thanked her and told her my name in case she needed it. She introduced herself as a third year named Crystal, and thes wished me a good year before I had to head out for the training.

The headmistress stood in front of a long line of silver plates laying in the grass. She instructed each student to stand on one, before beginning to explain how this exercise would work.

“Dear students, you have been honing your skills and training for years. It’s truely the only reason you were all accepted into this school.” She began. “Now, this morning, you will have the chance to hone your skills further- in the Emerald Forest.” She gestured to the trees behind her. “You will be expected to use your own landing strategy.”

“Landing?” A boy a few plates down from me asked, sounding afraid.

“Of course. How else will you stop your fall?”

Oh. Oh no.

A spring plate launched near me, a few plates down from from the other side of me, at the end of the line of plates.

“Now, do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path. OTherwise, you will die.”

“Die?!” Someone blurted as I stood there in stunned, terrified silence. The headmistress chuckled.

“Of course not, merely joking. Any injuries sustained will be treated immediately by the medical professionals here at the school. Nobody will be dying today.”

The girl who had asked was launched toward the forest next, screaming in fear as she flew clumsily through the air.

“Any other questions?” I watched as more plates began to spring, I saw Jules soar up gracefully before pushing back with her wings and slowing herself to a much more gradual fall. “No? Lovely.”

Before I knew it, my plate had triggered, and I took in a great gulp of air. Despite the stomach dropping terror I was experiencing, and the fact that my chest felt like it was closing up around my heart, I forced myself to breathe. I surveyed my surroundings carefully, readying the trigger on my gauntlets.

I grappled to a nearby tree, watching the silver blades stick into the trunk and begin pulling me toward the tree. With my other hand, I grappled again, letting go of my first trigger to unhook my weapon.

Using this method repeatedly, I was able to slow myself gradually until I could land safely with a roll.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness under the canopy, my ears picked up noise after noise. The rustle of leaves, animalistic growls, and the sounds of faraway students also finding landing strategies.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I focused myself into the sounds around me, pressing another hidden trigger on my gauntlets in order to flip the blades to be facing forward, making them Tekko Kagi.

The sounds faded away from around me, and I was able to single in on a low growl coming from my left. I opened my eyes and began to run, avoiding large bushes and trees I couldn’t see past.

Until, of course, I rounded into a clearing that wasn’t actually clear. I came face to face with a Beowulf.

Taking in a deep breath, I readied myself as best I could. Despite this, I continued to shake with fear at the growling Grimm before me.

“Hey ugly!” The beowulf looked away from me, before an energy bullet soared through the air, piercing the creature’s red eye and continuing through the back of it’s head. It howled in pain and collapsed, and I watched it crumble into dust and float off into the air.

I flipped around to find my savior. I tall girl with deep red hair and olive skin hung upside down in a tree, grinning wide at me.

She lifted one foot off the branch, using it to push off and flip in the air, landing steadily on her feet, back facing me.

She was wearing a deep blue skirt, a light blue vest, and a white turtleneck.

“Thank you-”

“You almost died!” she said, turning around toward me, still grinning. “So maybe don’t.”

“I didn’t know it was here.” I said meekly, rubbing my arm awkwardly.

“Don’t worry about it.” She said, walking over to me. She was much taller than I was. I was eye level with her shoulder.

She held out a hand toward me, touching a button on her gun to shift it into a much small, much more manageable pistol.

I switched my weapon back to gauntlets, before shaking her hand.

“Nizzy.” She said with a grin. “Nizzy Schnee.”

“Gem Indegno.” I replied with a hesitant smile.

“Nice to meet you, Gem. I hope William didn’t scare you off from the family.”

“I more just have a grudge against him.” I responded. “I know that not all Schnees are like that.”

“Especially since my aunt took control of the company.” she responded. I tilted my head and raised one eyebrow, urging her to continue her statement. “I’m Whitley’s daughter.”

“Ah, okay.” I felt like I had to make a good impression now, knowing how high of status her father is in the world.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna run and report you to my dad if you cross me. I handle my own problems.”

That wasn’t very reassuring, and she could apparently tell, because she sighed.

“Okay, bad impression.” She thunked her head with the heel of her palm. “Let’s try this again. I’m Nizzy, and I swear, I don’t live up to the expectations of my name. I don’t care about money or dust or appearances. I just want to be a normal fricken’ person.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her effort in making a good impression.

“Okay, I see that.” I said. “I won’t treat you any differently than I would most people.”

“Good. I’m sorry. I’m just tired of being treated like a princess because of my last name.” She leaned against the tree she had been hanging in earlier.

“I’m sure that would get tiring.” I said, shrugging. I had to think about the fact that she would be used to  being pampered every day of her life. As someone who’s used to being pretty independant, I think that would be absolutely suffocating.

“Anyway, enough about me- What’s your story?” We started walked toward the temple in the center of the forest, and I shrugged.

“Nothing too special. Dad is a pretty well known weapon smith, mom owns a local bookstore back home. I live with them and my sister Juliana. I have a kitten back home- about 4 months old. Her name is Allie and she’s a total sweetheart.”

“My mom used to have a pet spider.” I shuddered hearing that.

“I hate spiders.” I said. “I can’t handle being around them.”

“Oh boy. I’ll just go ahead and stop talking about Hunter then.” She chuckled softly. I thanked her with an embarrassed smile. “Anyway, tell me more about your sister- she’s got a nice name.”

“We get along fairly well now that we’re older, but when I was about 5, she was a huge bully. She always made fun of my ears because I had to grow into them.”

“Big ears?” She asked.

“Yeah.” I tucked my hair back, before deciding to just tie it up in a messy bun. “I’m a bat faunus, and I was lucky enough to get the hearing instead of the eyesight but that means that my ears are absolutely humongous.”

“I think they look fine.” She said with a smile. “My ears are pointed too.” She pulled her hair back to show the slightly pointed form of her ear, before dropping her hair back into place next to her face.

“But not nearly as much as mine.” I replied as we emerged into a clearing. I looked around, seeing the old ruins of a temple. Three other pairs of people were walking toward the stone building, and so we approached.

As we got closer, I noticed a bunch of pedestals, some with red or yellow statuettes on them that looked like large chess pieces, around the perimeter.

“Which one should we grab?” I asked. She reached out for one nearest to her and tossed it to me. I barely caught it- I had to jump to avoid accidentally dropping and breaking it.

“This one. Sounds good.” I chuckled. “Time to head back then.”

“I would assume.” She slung her arm around my shoulder, and I grinned at her.

We walked back rather easily- continuing to get to know each other for about half of the trek. During the other half, our conversation morphed into imagining outlandish different people we could be paired up with. Eventually we decided that our teammates would be best if they were two people we didn’t know at all- Although I secretly still hoped to have Rain, the shark faunus from the airship, on my team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allie is a good baby and she never really shows back up but um she's kind of the best anyway


End file.
